Nothing sums up the difference between city and country in Pet Sematary better than the story of the reanimated prize bull. The people of Ludlow in rural Maine combine practicality and belief in old legends, encapsulated by the tale of a local farmer who used a supernatural burial ground to bring back his most valuable animal…. Pet Sematary (2019) Read More
Captain Marvel 4 stars
Young girls can learn a lot from Carol Danvers about trusting their instincts – especially if they ever need to know if it’s okay to punch a sweet old lady in the face. Captain Marvel is something of a triumph. What could in other hands have been a dull by-numbers story – with its straightforward… Captain Marvel Read More
Isn’t It Romantic 4 stars
I’m delighted to say that Isn’t It Romantic doesn’t have one original idea in it. You’ll have seen them all before, in a thousand romcoms – but director Todd Strauss-Schulson has taken those ideas, chucked them into the air then watched them fall to the ground in perfect order, a bit like if Rebel Wilson did… Isn’t It Romantic Read More
Alien (4k Restoration: 2019) 5 stars
*** click down for two film clips, the trailer and images *** The Nostromo, the towing ship pulling a mining refinery, takes its name from the title of a novel by Joseph Conrad. In the book, Nostromo the man is “viewed by the rich as their useful tool”, which neatly sums up how the company sees Ripley, Dallas,… Alien (4k Restoration: 2019) Read More
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part 3.5 stars
Younger sisters can be awful, and I should know as I am one. Or maybe I’m just misunderstood. Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), the younger sister and architect of everything no longer being awesome in Bricksburg, is misunderstood, and the whole second Lego movie could have been avoided if only her older brother Finn (Jadon Sand) had… The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Read More
The Kid Who Would Be King 3.5 stars
This is a story of derring do and derring don’ts, as 12 year old Alex Elliott’s failure to adhere to the four points of the Chivalric Code almost cause our country’s downfall. We’re in enough trouble already, and about to be enslaved during an eclipse by King Arthur”s evil half-sister Morgana (a delightfully nasty Rebecca… The Kid Who Would Be King Read More
Polar 1.5 stars
I hate to admit this but the only time I laughed out loud during John Wick 3: Parky Bottom, I mean Polar, was when something terrible happened to the cute dog. Based on the comic series of the same name, Polar mixes dark brooding and methodical kills with trashy, flashy, searingly bright gunfests to weird… Polar Read More
Colette (London Film Festival) 3.5 stars
I am the real Claudine, the young women of Paris all cry, as Colette’s series of novels about a young French woman hit a nerve. Born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (she shortens her name later as she starts to create a new identity for herself as the author of her books), she is a woman ahead of… Colette (London Film Festival) Read More
Siberia 2.5 stars
There’s a coldness to Matthew Ross’s new thriller Siberia that goes way beyond bleakly sub-zero temperatures and beautiful ice-blue diamonds. That and the nihilistic icy clarity of how Lucas Hill’s story will end make it hard to really engage with. Still, his relationships with his new girlfriend and her brother are bleakly funny, and there’s… Siberia Read More
BlacKkKlansman (Cannes 2018) 4 stars
There’s a big sign strung across the entrance to the Colorado Springs Police Department, encouraging new recruits from diverse backgrounds to apply. Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is soon their first black police officer, fulfilling his lifelong dream. And once there, he also joins another outfit as their first black recruit; the local branch of… BlacKkKlansman (Cannes 2018) Read More
Fahrenheit 451 (Cannes 2018) 2.5 stars
I love the initial minutes of dystopian storytelling; how a society got to this point, the new realities of everyday life, and the capacity of the human spirit to absorb horrific change without challenging it. How much do they agree? How much are they hoping someone else will save them? Or maybe they just don’t… Fahrenheit 451 (Cannes 2018) Read More
No Shade 3.5 stars
*** No Shade is showing as part of the Pan-African Film+ Arts Festival in LA this February – find out more here *** “If I’m natural I’m bush, and if I put on a wig I’m fake”, cries the beautiful and elegant Jade in frustration, as a succession of terrible dates and a broken love… No Shade Read More
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